#please hear my prayers Horikoshi I’m actually begging for you to work Rody into the canon storyline somehow

[babyybitchhh]

Alright, I’m finally home and situated, and ready to talk about the movie. But first, a quick story:

I preordered tickets for a screening of the subbed version, because that’s my preference, and I was genuinely surprised at how much I actually enjoyed the film. Like, even putting best boy aside, it was a very fun movie. But walking out of the theater I felt like I hadn’t gotten enough of Rody yet … and knowing he’s (currently) a movie only character, I made an impulse decision to catch the next screening. I took the day off specifically for this purpose so if I want to watch it twice I damn well will. 😂 Only problem was that the next subbed screening wasn’t until hours later, whereas there was a dubbed version starting in 15 minutes. I already knew what my answer would be.

So I buy tickets at the kiosk, not really paying any attention to what exactly I was signing up for, and I’m sure you can imagine the look on my face when I walked into a 4DX theater. Lmaooooooo For anyone who doesn’t know (I didn’t, until today) it’s supposed to give you an interactive experience by moving the seats, vibrating, blowing mist on you, etc. Honestly I found the whole thing really quite annoying, and given how rough it was on the neck I probably will not be doing that ever again. 😂 The very definition of extra for the sake of it. At least make me cum if you’re gonna’ be jerking me around like that, you know what I mean? But anyway I endured both that and the dub (seriously tho, why do they pronounce Ochako’s name like that??? Lol Shit gets me every goddamn time) for the sake of Rody, and I can’t even claim to be mad about it. Suuuuch a good boy. 😭

I’m glad I DID decide to go back for the second screening though, because they gave me the data book that time!!

Genuinely unsure if they just forgot the first go or if this was only being handed out for screenings of the dub but … okay. I’ll stick this on my shelf with the rest of my Hero Academia shit and look at it fondly while thinking about my newest beloved, so it’s all good.

But, yeah. This was easily the best Hero Academia movie so far imo and I’m not just saying that because I’m biased - and yes, as I’m sure you can tell I love Rody every bit as much as I thought I would and then some. But cinematically speaking it was a very satisfying watch, particularly when my biggest complaint with the first movie was how simple the narrative was while only implementing a very small portion of the canon cast. The second movie was much, much better in that regard, and I enjoyed it quite a bit, but it was definitely more slice of life leaning up until the big fight at the end. This one, however, really felt like a true super hero action flick befitting of the series title. I’m still thinking about some of the camera work tbh, it was truly phenomenal at points, and I especially liked Bakugou’s battle choreography. It blended real world physics with the violent mobility of his quirk in a very believable manner, and I especially enjoyed watching him flip around in the air and then shoot off with his explosions. Haha. My biggest take away was definitely the sequence where Deku was chasing after Rody though because, little known fact about me, I LOVE a good chase scene. Honestly I get very disappointed when I’m watching something and they hit me with a lackluster chase, especially when there’s so much you could do with one when using an animated medium.

Luckily they absolutely delivered on that front, and the little note Horikoshi made on Rody’s character sheet about him being ‘very athletic’ was not in any way an exaggeration. 😂 He was putting Deku through his paces without even half of the training, so I think it’s a good thing none of the teachers saw that shit because they would’ve felt like goddamn stooges. Rody the 🏃‍♂️ track star over here dunking on everybody, smh.

Moving on, and in no particular order, I was SO thrilled about Burnin’ being in this movie! She’s just so, so great and I loved seeing her in action. Her civilian clothes at the end? Mwuah. Chefs kiss. That IS what a best girl looks like. Also the flying squirrel hero that was on their team? Adorable.

Bakugou looked great in his red pants + open black button up + gray shirt underneath ensemble. I know his style isn’t necessarily fashionable, in a traditional sense, but does he absolutely rock it? Yes. 100% There’s a little question section in the data book where someone asked Hori what Bakugou’s room looks like, since we didn’t get to see it, and he said it’s “relatively” stylish, whatever that’s supposed to mean. 😂

Endeavor finally getting some semi decent screen time in a movie was very, very nice and the little comic Hori drew of him wanting to sit next to Shoto on the plane going to Otheon was too cute. 😭 He’s really just out here trying his best. And seeing him actively working with Burnin’?? Ugh. My heart is full today. My only complaint, forever and always, is that the anime team seems to struggle with transferring him over from the manga, and he looks a little off sometimes because of it. Not always as appealing as Hori’s polished design, but still mostly agreeable.

Oh, let’s see. What else. I don’t have much to say about Shoto (other than asking why his dub voice make it sound like he’s perpetually getting over a cold?? Lol) but I’m sure his fans will be happy. Deku was very cute in this film. Hawks had some real nice shots too, so I’m sure all of his baby chicks will be quite happy with that. Seeing all the heroes working together around the world was very satisfying, and I particularly liked the Egyptian hero Salam. He was fun. Lol I have a few too many thoughts about Rody to go into that here and now, haha. But rest assured I’m thinking many thoughts about him tonight.

Overall I’d say this was a VERY solid movie, my personal fave so far, and I hope everyone who sees it enjoys it just as much! If you were on the fence about going or not, I’d highly recommend it! Why wait for it to hit streaming services when you can watch it now and fall in love with Rody too? 😩